A genus of plants in the carrot family (Apiaceae), herbaceous plants with small white flowers and aromatic seeds, found in Mediterranean regions.
From Greek 'ammeon,' referring to ancient Mediterranean plants. The scientific genus name 'Ammi' was adopted in botanical Latin during the Renaissance when scientists began formally classifying plants using ancient Greek and Latin nomenclature.
The Ammi genus represents how ancient plant names live on through science—when Renaissance botanists needed Latin names for plants, they reached back to ancient Greek texts to find what the old naturalists called these same Mediterranean herbs.
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